Merit

The Declasse Merit is a four-door sedan in Grand Theft Auto IV and Episodes from Liberty City.

Influence

The Merit is primarily based on the eighth generation Chevrolet Impala, particularly the 2004-2005 SS package (as evidenced by the fog lights, wheels and the spoiler), with the rear heavily inspired by the facelifted fifth generation Honda Accord. The front bumper could be derived from a variety of cars, but the headlights and front grille are reminiscent of a fifth generation Pontiac GTO.

Design

The Merit assumes a modernized design. The front bumper of the car is dominated by a rectangular mesh grille, which spans about two-third of the car's width and is partially covered by the license plate on the driver-side half. On each side of the lower grille is an unusable circular fog light, which are almost of the same distance between the upper and lower edges of the bumper, but are closer to the outer edges than to the lower grille. A black/plastic strip runs almost through the whole upper edge of the bumper, leaving a small gap near the front wheel arches. The upper section of the car houses the main grille in the center, which has a curved shape on the lower and side edges. This main grille bears three painted horizontal dividers over a mesh, and a single silver central separation, bearing the Declasse logo. Right beside the main grille are the black headlight units, each one containing dual circular main units and small turn indicators on the outer edges. The hood lid is quite basic in design, but bears two distinctive lines, one starting from each side of the main grille and running towards each edge of the windshield.

The sides of the car are relatively basic, featuring flared arches and rectangular skirting areas. Black/plastic strips can be seen running through the doors, which have the same height as the one on the front bumper, while thin accent lines are seen starting near the headlights and running towards the tail lights, passing between the black door handles and the waist lines. The greenhouse area makes use of black trim around the windows and inner separations, together with painted mirror shells on the front doors and rounded rear-quarter windows. A single aerial can be seen on the rear portion of the roof. The trunk lid mounts a small spoiler by default.

On the rear, the car makes use of a dedicated section for the license plate and a black/plastic strip above, while additional badges are seen above the aforementioned section and the lower edges of the trunk lid. On the sides of the rear end are large tail lights that are divided into four slots: the upper indicators and lower main units located on the outer edges of the car, and the upper reverse and lower brake units located within the trunk lid. The rear bumper is rather basic in design and bears a black/plastic strip located at the same height as the front and side strips, also leaving small gaps near the rear wheel arches, and a small molding for the driver-side exhaust.

The Merit is seen in a variety of single colors applied to the body, and uses a set of five-spoke rims with thin grooves on each spoke (which seem to be based on American Racing's line of chrome IROC-Z wheel replicas). It is fitted with medium-profile tires with regular tread pattern.

The vehicle is equipped with a GPS system with a female voice, but only if the player leaves the "selected cars" (default) option in the audio menu.

Performance

The Merit is powered by a twin-cam inline-4, mated to a five-speed transmission in a RWD layout. Acceleration is good, but unremarkable. Braking is very good. The suspension is very firm, keeping the Merit flat through corners, and enabling it to corner effectively at speed. Accident deformation is acceptable, as the Merit will survive a few frontal impacts before being rendered unusable. The Merit seems suited towards any situation; it is capable of high speeds and it seems able to survive a serious car chase, making it a versatile addition to any parking space.

The Merit uses a mid-revving engine sound also present on its service variants, as well as the Buccaneer and the Virgo.

Variants

Image	Vehicle	Description	Notes
The Taxi in Grand Theft Auto IV.	Taxi	A taxi variant of the Merit. It is operated by L.C.C. Taxis. It is one of two vehicles named "Taxi" in the game, the other being a taxi variant of the Stanier.
The Police Patrol in Grand Theft Auto IV.	Police Patrol	A police variant of the Merit. It features an LCPD livery and a red and white lightbar.

Gallery

Design

Images

Michelle's silver **Merit** in *GTA IV*.

A wrecked **Merit** in *Grand Theft Auto V*.

Locations

It is often driven in East Hook, BOABO and possibly Outlook.
It can be seen driven in Industrial and Chase Point.
It is also seen near Playboy X's penthouse.
It is seen driven around Purgatory, Star Junction, Westminster and Middle Park West, Algonquin.

Prominent Appearances in Gameplay

First Date – The Merit is the main vehicle for the mission, as it belongs to Michelle. It features a unique silver primary color, but can spawn with any of the 11 default pearlescent colors.

Notable Owners

Michelle

Rewards

Grand Theft Auto IV

After collecting all thirty cars for Stevie, he agrees to purchase cars from Niko Bellic, with the Merit fetching $1,800.

Oversights

The Merit contains the same interior partition present in its taxi and police variants, despite being a civilian vehicle.

Specifications

Model

	Model name	Texture name	Handling name	Text label name	In-game name	Swankness	Flags
GTA IV and EFLC	`merit`	`merit`	`MERIT`	`MERIT`	Merit	`2`	Model Flags `MF_IS_BIG` `MF_ABS_ALT_STD` `MF_NO_1STPERSON_LOOKBEHIND`

Population

	Group(s)	Scenario set(s)	Frequency	Driver model(s)	License plate(s)
GTA IV and TBOGT	List Harlem Jersey Brooklyn Bohemian Russian Eastern European Chinese Japanese South American Factory Network Boring Saloons	N/A	100	N/A	N/A
TLAD	List Harlem Jersey Brooklyn Bohemian Russian Eastern European Chinese Japanese South American Factory Boring Saloons	N/A	100	N/A	N/A

Handling

	Max velocity (kmph / mph)	Gears	Engine type	Drivetrain	Mass (kg / lbs)
GTA IV and EFLC	140 / 86.99	5	N/A	RWD	1750 / 3858.09

Audio

	Horns	Engine	Radio	Police scanner
	Horns	Engine	Radio	Manufacturer	Model	Category	Color override
GTA IV and EFLC	`merit_multi_horn`	`v_style_2`	Hip-hop	Declasse	Merit	4-door	N/A

Language

	English	French	German	Italian	Spanish	Japanese	Russian	Polish	Korean	Chinese (Simplified)	Chinese (Traditional)	Portuguese (Brazil)	Spanish (Mexico)
GTA IV and EFLC	Merit	Merit	Merit	Merit	Merit	Merit	Мерит	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Traffic Default Colors

Primary	Secondary	Pearlescent
1 Black Poly	0 Black	7 Shadow Silver Poly
10 Gray Poly	0 Black	10 Gray Poly
33 Desert Red	33 Desert Red	27 Very Red
45 Medium Garnet Red Poly	1 Black Poly	30 Blaze Red
49 Twilight Blue Poly	49 Twilight Blue Poly	50 Torch Red
50 Torch Red	49 Twilight Blue Poly	51 Green
57 Dark Green Poly	0 Black	58 Rio Red
64 Saxony Blue Poly	64 Saxony Blue Poly	63 Striking Blue
68 Diamond Blue Poly	64 Saxony Blue Poly	8 Silver Stone Poly
2 Concord Blue Poly	2 Concord Blue Poly	63 Striking Blue
21 Steel Gray Poly	21 Steel Gray Poly	72 Medium Regatta Blue Poly
22 Slate Gray	22 Slate Gray	72 Medium Regatta Blue Poly
13 Ascot Gray	11 Anthracite Gray Poly	91 Pastel Alabaster
19 Medium Gray Poly	19 Medium Gray Poly	93 Flax
2 Concord Blue Poly	133 Very White	63 Striking Blue
21 Steel Gray Poly	133 Very White	72 Medium Regatta Blue Poly

Beta Content

In the first trailer for Grand Theft Auto IV, the Merit can be seen with a slightly different appearance compared to the final game. The headlights and front signals have an entirely different design, being a flush composite single-bulb design rather than the final glass-enclosed projector design. The fog lights and body-colored horizontal grille bars are absent, and the car features an entirely different wheel design appearing to resemble that of the Banshee. A second Merit can be seen from the rear in the background of the same shot, revealing that the car also does not have any badges.

In the final game, the Merit's badge texture contains an unused diamond-shaped badge reading "100". This may be a reference to Chevrolet's parent company General Motors, which celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2008, the same year Grand Theft Auto IV released.

The early **Merit**, seen in the first trailer for *Grand Theft Auto IV*.

The **Merit'**s badge texture, containing an unused "**100**" badge.

Trivia

A wrecked version of the Merit appears as a static prop in Grand Theft Auto IV, Episodes from Liberty City, Grand Theft Auto V, and Grand Theft Auto Online.

Merit

Contents

Influence

Design

Performance

Variants

Gallery

Design

Images

Locations

Prominent Appearances in Gameplay

Notable Owners

Rewards

Oversights

Specifications

Model

Population

Handling

Audio

Language

Traffic Default Colors

Beta Content

Trivia

Navigation

Navigation menu